Volkswagen Group has announced it will be shareholder of a charging platform for electric vehicles (EV).

The Hubject platform was founded in 2012 by BMW, Bosch, Daimler, EnBW, Innogy and Siemens. It provides e-mobility customers with access to almost 40,000 charge points on three continents.

Volkswagen said joining it will allow the platform to push ahead with further international expansion and the digital interconnection of charging stations.

The platform plans to move towards digital interconnection of charging stations for electric vehicles starting in early 2017.

Thomas Daiber, CEO of Hubject said: “Charging must become more customer-friendly if electric cars are to make the breakthrough and catch on quicker. Together with our new shareholder we will be working at top speed to push forward with interconnecting the charging infrastructure.”

Last month, the UK Government pledged to invest £390 million by 2020/21 to support ultra-low emissions vehicles (ULEVs), renewable fuels and connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs).